It's been seven years since Azure Ray's released an album. Seven years ago, I listened to Eiffel 65.
Drawing Down the Moon starts just like every other Azure Ray record - lo-fi, groggy, ready for bed. "Wake Up, Sleepyhead," with its minor harp and vinyl scratching, feels just like something out of an early 50's teenage dream. As the record progresses, the mood hardly changes. Songs like the lonely girl anthem "Larraine"(which is suspiciously similar to Bat For Lashes' "Sarah"), the head-bobbing saw solo of "Love and Permanence," and the country drum beats of "Shouldn't Have Loved" provide some mixing up of sound, but as a whole this album works as a single entity.
The major difference between now and then for Azure Ray is the split musical personalities between Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink. While Maria Taylor's songs are prominently acoustic and full of ghost-like harmonies, Orenda Fink's tunes are mostly electric, simple drum machine beats and square waves taking most of the focus. Although Orenda's songs are the most diverse instrumentally as well as progressively, they seem to lack the substance once so favored in the world of Azure Ray. Notably, "In The Fog" seems as if it were taken from an O+S album before being stripped of all emotion - a dangerous thing to do early on in the record, creating a sense of anxiety towards the outcome of the rest. Fortunately for us, "In The Fog" is the only true filler song.
Possibly taking influence from Cassadaga and David Dondero tracks, the album ends on a sweethearted note. "Walking In Circles" is the perfect track for a burdened mind - Mellotron and Casio tones escalate into what seems like an orchestral ending to what simply be described as Azure Ray, with the voice of Maria Taylor softly passing through.
After seven years of solo as well as various collaborative efforts, Saddle Creek's famed duet of indie goddesses pick up exactly where they left off - tired, alone, drenched in reverb. This is a great album for crying yourself to sleep, falling asleep at the wheel, or just plain going to bed.
